An Atomic Rowing team finished 11th in the nation at youth championships in Florida this month.
The women’s lightweight double consisted of Veda Seay, a senior at Oak Ridge High School, and Sara Kate White, a sophomore at Maryville High School. They competed in the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida, from June 6-9.
Seay and White had a fantastic weekend of racing, a press release said. Their boat placed 12th in time trials on Thursday, June 6, with a time of 7:29.200. Only the top nine teams advanced to semifinals, and the rest competed in a second-chance repechage.
Seay and White went on to win their repechage race on Friday, June 7, to advance to semifinals with a time of 7:47.576, beating a PNRA/Mercer team by about two seconds.
They finished sixth in their semifinal heat on Saturday, June 8, crossing the 2,000-meter finish line at 7:55.752. Their finish time was 11th overall in the two semifinal heats for women’s lightweight youth.
Seay and White also finished 11th overall in the finals on Sunday, June 9, completing their race in 7:53.769. The top three teams were Three Rivers (7:23.192), Narragansett (7:23.780), and Seattle (7:29.440).
Seay and White were featured by USRowing on the second day of competition, highlighting their performance at the event, the press release said.
The two rowed for rival clubs a year ago, according to USRowing. But after East Tennessee Rowing Club near Maryville disbanded this past year, White and many of her teammates turned to Atomic Rowing of Oak Ridge for a place to keep training, competing, and racing, USRowing said.
“Several of their athletes (from East Tennessee Rowing Club) wanted to continue training through the winter, so we opened our doors to them,” Atomic Rowing Coach Evelyn Redford told USRowing. “We got about 25 competitive athletes.”
During the repechage race in Sarasota earlier this month, Seay and White fought their way back into the lead during the second half after being more than three seconds down at the 1,000-meter mark to earn their semifinal spot, USRowing said.
The press release said USRowing Youth National Championships is the premier youth rowing event in the United States with approximately 1,500 athletes vying for national titles in 18 boat classes, the press release said.
The photo and press release cited in this story were submitted by Rachel Seay.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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